Door closer



DOOR CLOSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, 1957 Fly. 2

INVENTOR. ALAN M. LIPSGHUTZ ATTORNEY? y 1959 A. M. LIPYSCHUTZ 2,885,721

DOOR CLOSER Filed June 10, 1957 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR. ALAN M. LIPSCHUTZ ATTORNEY;

Unitecl States Patent DOORIILOSER Alan M."Lipschutz,"Narlierth, Pa.APplication1June110; 1957,;Serial No. 664,552

" Claims; .(CI; 16-59) -This-invention'-.relates to= a.-.doorcloser-and'check con struction adap'ted to be .used on agrightehand-dooras 'well I as-v on a left-hand door :withoutrequiring rearrangement ofitsinternal mechanism.

. i The door:closerconsists=-essentially of a housing :con--.ztainingacoiledtcloclgtype springwhich is adapted to be v selectivelyrestrained at its-inner-end or at its outer end depending upon/whetherit isaused on wright-hand or leftrhand ;door.---. Means tare providedexternally of. the Ca SiDEgKWhJ .Ch can betama-nually set to select thedesired spring action.

,tFurther detailsr-and-advantages of--.t-he--invention will beapparentfrom the followingspecification-and accom- .Tpanying. drawingswherein:

Figure...-1.is-a vertical-longitudinalzsection ofthe-door closer,

n Figure 2 is atzsectional viewttaken. on-.,lines 22 of Figure 1,

;-Figure.-3 is--a.- view. taken on-lines 3-.3 of; Figure 1,

.. ..;Eigure 5 -.is ,aaperspeetive -yie,w of-,.the double-pawl used iHthndOfiC1QSI :shown in Figure 1,

Figure s6s-ist a perspective. wiew of; the spring -dr-iver;usedinztherdoor closen-shown IIgFigUI .1'; and v Figures-71s: aperspective-view of-.the.ratchet-.wheel 51 sleeve.integral;-.therewithused in theeidoor closer T-.-Sh0Wt in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the.-casting which; carries vtheclosingand:checlging: mechanism consists of ahousing nconsis tingofiinyl-inden10;":and aspring-housing 30 .whichisnprovidedzwithssideswings-;32,;-.the rlatter having screw-"holes 34fonattaching-the closer to a-,door.- uValve -14,.controlsithe fluidby-ipass tflow imthe cylinder 10 in a :zmannensimilarato \the-valye f3.ofi Taylor-Patent 658,518.

. .The. cylinder. 1-0 is; adapted tosifetain 1 a suitable 1 fluidWandiisclosed by. .aniend cap llg internally threaded at M1111,.and..se,aled hyt-gaske't 7.1. }A--.piston; 9-:-provided.- with a checkvalve of well=knowntconstruction -to permitpassage ofthe liquid in-awellrk-nown: manner is adapted to reciprocate.withint-thet-cylinder 10and is --actuated by a -.crank -16:1whiehtisnconnected vto-.-one end ofa: connecting ,.:1ink. 171.. The other; end ofiilink -17 is iconnectedto pin 13 M fixed in.t he.-piston 9:.ErThe1fluid inethe'forward part 25of.the..cylindersis-edapted to be -bywpassed by -adjustmentoflvalvetscrewt 14twhichtcontrolsfiow of theI-fluid.

The crank 16 is integrally connected to rotatable-spindle which extendsthrough a bearing plate 75 which is threaded at itsper-ipheryi75acfandis retained thereby in the annular juncture 30a ofchamber 10 with housing 30. The bearing-plate'75 is provided with a hubportion .w- 7.7 whichtembraces the spindle 15 andis adapted to. rotat-...-.;ably =.supp ort a spring driver 60, shown in perspective in.rrFigur-e The spring driver 60 isqrrovidedwitlmas sleeve 62 having abore 63 through which the spindle 15 extends, as shown in Figure 1. Theupper portion of the sleeve 62 is provided with two parallel flattenedportions 64, as shown in Figure 6, for receiving an upper ratchetwheel50 which is provided with an opening having com- :.plemental= flattened.portions 50a, as shownin Figure 3.; adapted to slidably fit'theflattened portions 64 o f'the tsleeve' 62. It will beevident that.v uponrotation of ratchetswheel 50; spindle 15 will beJrotated in the samedirection,.which in turn-will operate. the'crankt16.

Referring to..Fig-ure.1, it?will beseenthatasleeve 62 is surrounded by.asleeve 54 which is free to rotatethereon. vSleeve 54 is: integralwith=airatchetfwheel 51, as-shown r in Figure .7 ,"1 whichiis positionedbelow the upper ratchet- 10c wheel 50, as. shown in.Figure 1;:v Theratchet-wheel 51 ,is provided with a lug SIa'eXtending-beyonditsperiphery as shown in Figure 4, fora purpose to be explained later. A-washer 53 is positionedbetween-the two ratchet- .z-wheels,;the washer 53having an outsid'e diameter sub- 15 stantiallyv equal to. the outsidediameter of lower-ratchetv wheel 51L As shown inzFigure 7','-the sleeve54 .is providedzwith a longitudinal slot. 54a which is adapted toengage: and retain the .inner end 70a of -'acoiled clock type.steelzspring 70, as shown iniFigure 2. The outer Aind 70b of. the.spring 70 is adapted to be retained by a spring-retaining post 61which-is-integral with thespring driver 60 as shown inFigure 6.

I Thexhousing- 36 is provided with a vertically extending recess 33 forreceiving a stop plate 85 which-has a forwardly extending stop portion86 extending -within the housing. The stop portion" 86 is adapted to beabutted by the spring-retaining .post61, as shown in Figure 2, so

as to restrain the outer end 70b of the spring 70 against .*.movement.

The upper 'end of housing 30 is closed by a frictionally retained cover:35 which is provided with two spaced 1 :downwardly;extendingwlugs 5which abut the side" wings 1; 3-2 and thereby prevent rotation-thereof."Cover 35 is alsovprovided with an upwardly extending-lug 80 as shownin-fFiguresl 'and-A'Which is adapted to act as a gnstop for extension.51a ofratchet-wheel 51 fora-purpose to benexplained lateral-The: cover35 is provided with a .nzcentral opening to permit the sleeve 54 ofratchet-wheel 51 towextend therethroughupwardly so as to permit iratchetwheel to be: rotatably supported onthe shoulder portiom 36 of the coversAs described previously, a washer 53 is positioned on ratchet-wheel 51and the upper .zs ratchebwheel 50 is positioned thereover.

2 L-The'upperiend 15a of spindle 15 may be machined to give it anoctagonalushape for receiving a-complemental opening in-one. end of theclosing arm '40 as-shown in 'tuFigure 3.;i-Tl16 arm 40is securelyretained on spindle 15 i by; a'rnut 49. threadedthereoniagainst awasner43 Arm a 40 .isqprovidedwithzapin 41 for rotatablymetaining a doublepawl45 which is shown in perspective in-Figure 5-. The double pawl consistsof anintegral upper pawl 47 and an integrallower .pawl 46. The doublepawl 45 is adapted to be manually moved so as to selectively engageeitherpawl 46 with ratchet-wheel 51, or to engage "pawl 47 with upperratchet-wheel 50,-depending upon whetherthe closer is to be used onarright-hand or lefthand door. Suitable indicia, such as 15', may beprov vided on the end ofspindle 15, and suitable indicia, such L as4.07, on the end of arm 40, so that thearrn 40- rnay be iproperlypositioned on spindle' 15 at any suitable-angle i to, permitoperation ofthe. closer for either right-hand or left-hand door operation.

At the time of installation of the closerona door,-the spring 79 issuitably tensioned or pre-loaded' by first .t-manually.::rotatingieitherratchet-wheel 51 or ratchetwheel depending uponnwhetherthe doorcloser isto bezzused on aright-hand orileft-hand doorL The-function loaded ortensioned to a suitable predetermined extent. This is accomplished bymeans of a suitable spanner wrench which is used to manually engage androtate ratchet-wheel 51 in counter-clockwise direction, and likewisesleeve 54 integral therewith will also be rotated in the same direction.The inner end 70a of coiled spring 70, which is retained in the slot 54aof sleeve 54, will thereby be rotated and wound counter-clockwise whilethe spring-retaining post 61 will abut and thereby be fixedly retainedagainst stop portion 86, thereby fixedly retaining the outer end 70b ofthe spring 70. Energy will thus be stored in spring 70 to pre-tensionsame to a desired degree. The pawl 46 is then manually pivoted so as toengage ratchet-wheel 51 and retain it against rotation whereby openingof the door will turn arm 40 and thereby wind up the inner end of saidspring. Upon releasing an opened door to which the closer is attached,

the stored energy of spring 70 will reverse the action of the partspreviously described and thereby operate arm 40 which will act to closethe door. Since lever arm 40 is attached to the upper end of the spindle15 it will act to rotate the spindle when the door is opened and in turnoperate the checking mechanism in a known mannen Likewise, when the dooris being closed by the action of the stored energy in the spring thismovement is regulated by the checking mechanism in a known manner. Thepro-loading of spring 70 previously referred to in addition to theenergy stored in the spring 70 by virtue of the opening of the doorsupplies the necessary energy required to close a door of given size andweight on which the closer is used.

When the door closer is to be used on a right-handed door, it issuitably attached to the door by screws passed through holes 34 inplates 32. The spring 70 is then preloaded or tensioned by manuallyrotating ratchet-wheel 50 in a clockwise direction by means of asuitable spanner wrench. Since ratchet 50 is engaged with the upperportion of sleeve 62, clockwise rotation of sleeve 62 will partspreviously described and thereby rotate arm 40 in a counter-clockwisedirection and close the door.

The construction of the universal closer herein described isparticularly advantageous on account of its simplicity of parts, each ofmanufacture and assembly durability and relatively low cost. The partswill not get out of order and will operate efliciently. The door closerfurthermore has the advantage that the checking of an opened door willoccur at about 85 from the closed position thereof for either right-handor left-hand operation because the described construction in conjunctionwith the stored energy in the coiled spring 70 initiates hydraulicchecking action at this angle.

It will be understood that the specific construction of the variousparts of the door closer as herein described are intended to be anillustrative embodiment of the invention and that changes andmodifications may be made which are intended to be included within thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. door closer comprising a casing formed to provide a cylinder and aspring chamber, a reciprocable piston in said cylinder, a spindlerotatably mounted in said casing,

said spindle being connected to said piston, a spring driver positionedin said spring chamber and having a sleeve portion and a spring-retainerpost, said sleeve portion being rotatably mounted on said spindle, aratchetwheel having a sleeve portion integral therewith rotatablymounted on the sleeve portion of said spring driver, a coiled spring insaid spring chamber, said sleeve portion of the ratchet-wheel beingprovided with a slot for retaining the inner end of said spring, a lugextending from the periphery of said ratchet-wheel, a cover on saidspring chamber for closing same, a stop portion on said cover, said lugon said ratchet-wheel being adapted to be retained against said stopportion, whereby upon clockwise rotation of said ratchet-wheel so as toposition the said lug of said ratchet-wheel against said stop portionthe outer end of said coiled spring is free to be wound while the innerend of said coiled spring is fixedly retained in the slot of said sleeveportion to store energy in said coiled spring, the upper end of thesleeve portion of said spring driver being provided with at least twoopposed flattened portions, a second ratchet-wheel positioned on saidupper portion of said upper end of the spring driver sleeve portion, thesaid second ratchet-wheel being provided with an opening adapted to matewith the said opposed flattened portions and being rotatable therewith,a lever arm pivotally carried on the upper end of said spindle, a doublepawl pivotally mounted on said lever arm, said double pawl having anupper pawl and a lower pawl adapted to be manually positioned andselectively engaged with the said ratchet-wheels, the lower pawl beingadapted to be engaged with the said first-mentioned ratchet-wheel andthe upper pawl being adapted to be engaged with said secondratchet-wheel, a stop portion retained in the wall of said springchamber, said stop portion being adapted to retain the said springretainer post against rotation in a counter-clockwise direction, saidspring retainer post being adapted to retain the outer end of saidcoiled spring, whereby upon counter-clockwise rotation of said secondratchet-wheel the inner end of said coiled spring is free to be wound upwhile the outer end of said coiled spring is fixedly retained againstsaid stop portion retained in the wall of said spring chamber to storeup energy in said coiled spring, said door closer being adapted to beused selectively on a rightor left-hand door by manual adjustment ofsaid double pawl.

2. A door closer as defined in claim 1, wherein a washer is interposedbetween the ratchet-wheels, the outer diameter of said washer beingsubstantially the same as the outer diameter of the first-mentionedratchet-wheel.

3. A door closer as defined in claim 1, wherein the easing is providedat its inner periphery with a longitudinally extending channel forslidably receiving a plate therein, said stop portion being integralwith said plate and extending within the spring casing and adapted to beengaged by the spring-retainer post.

4. A door closer as defined in claim 1, wherein the upper end of thespindle is of octagonal contour and one end of the lever arm is providedwith a complemental oc tagonal opening for receiving the upper end ofthe spindle, and indicia on adjacent portions of the upper end of thespindle and end of the lever arm for indicating predetermined positionsof the lever arm with respect to the spindle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS654,304 can July 24, 1900 654,305 Cliif July 24, 1900 658,518 TaylorSept. 25, 1900

